“Do you trust me?”
“No.”
He stopped as if she’d actually wounded him. Ari quit retreating as she looked at the hurt expression on his face. Did she trust him? He’d never done anything to harm her — had kept his word on everything he’d promised, and had made her feel pleasure beyond her wildest imagination.
So, taking all that into account, did she trust him? Yes, she actually did.
“That’s a lie, Rafe. You’ve never hurt me. I’m just frightened,” she admitted.
In a flash he was at her side, his hand coming up to stroke her cheek.
“I will never hurt you — that’s my promise.”
She wanted to contradict him. He might never physically hurt her, but what about her heart? He was surely going to shatter it, and the pain would be worse than from a broken bone. Yes, Rafe would hurt her — it was only a matter of time — but she was coming to accept that. He didn’t know any other way and she’d been foolish enough to develop feelings for him. It was her fault her heart would tear when he walked out her door and never came back.
“I know you intend not to hurt me. What do you want me to do?”
The gleam entered his eyes again as he led her into her spare room. When he flicked on the light, she looked in confusion at what was before her. She closed her eyes, shook her head, looked again, trained her eyes all around the room, and even then she couldn’t quite figure it out.
“Don’t be worried. I plan on taking you further tonight than I’ve ever taken you before. When you release your body totally over to me, and trust me to make you fly, the pleasure will be endless,” he whispered in her ear as his hand reached the bottom of her shirt and he began pulling it up.
Ari wanted to say no, turn around and walk out. Knowing she had the power to do just that allowed her the confidence to stand where she was as he lifted the shirt over her head. His hands came down and rested on her collarbone, his fingers softly rubbing the delicate skin.
A shudder ran through her as his hands roamed over her br**sts, barely skimming their lace-covered surface. Her ni**les hardened instantly, stretching toward him, eager for his touch.
He moved down the plane of her stomach, sending tiny goose bumps across the surface of her skin as he unbuttoned her jeans and slowly pulled down the zipper, all the while pressing his body up against her back so she could feel his obvious excitement.
Still moving in a leisurely fashion, his hands slipped inside her jeans and pulled them and her panties down. With his foot, he eased them off her before sliding his hands up her side and gently pushing her forward so he could reach the clasp of her bra. Within seconds she was stripped bare before him, and his hands roamed her body.
“Rafe…” she called, her knees beginning to grow weak.
“Shhh, just enjoy,” he whispered as one hand came around and tightened on her stomach, pulling her flush against his clothed body. While that hand gripped her to him, the other wandered over her skin, skimming across her br**sts and pinching her ni**les, before his fingers moved down and slid across the top of her heat.
His lips began trailing a line of kisses along her shoulder, his teeth scraping her lightly as he marked her as his. She tried to turn, but he held her firmly as his erotic torment continued.
His legs pushed against her, forcing her to move forward toward the contraption before her. Fear crawled up her throat as she was faced with it again.
“Trust me,” he encouraged her as he lifted her arm and slipped it into a fur lined leather strap, then attached it to a chain hanging from a large metal circle with two rings in it. The contraption reminded her of the ring around a world globe, but in this instance she was to be the globe.
She leaned against him as he trapped first one wrist and then the other. Before she could move, he dropped to the floor and encased her ankles in similar leather restraints, then clipped them to the circular bar, leaving her spread wide open while standing straight up inside a metal circle. She tugged against the restraints, but she was immobile, not able to move in the least.
He pushed against the metal, and it gently rocked, held tightly in place by a single steel chain dangling from the ceiling, making him able to move her in any direction while still keeping her locked inside. The back circle didn’t move, bracing her body with a woven leather web, making him able to keep her secure while still giving him plenty of access to her backside.
“What are you going to do?” she groaned as he rose and his mouth made a path up the inside of her thigh before his lips captured the line of her womanly secrets.
“Everything” was his answer.
With a few skillful strokes of his tongue, she was panting, fear left far behind. He reached around her and gripped her backside, pulling her body closer to his mouth, where he devoured her in a never-ending kiss. She rose higher, lights beginning to spark behind her eyes as she tugged against her restraints.
“Please,” she begged him as he inserted his fingers inside her and pumped in rhythm with his tongue. All of the sensations were too much, and she quickly spiraled out of control as her core shattered and she reached her peak of pleasure.
When she stopped gasping and finally opened her eyes, Rafe was gone. She looked around in panic, wondering what he was doing now. What felt like an eternity passed before she saw him walk through the door again, his body now bare of clothes. He was holding something in his hand, but the lights were too dim for her to make out what it was.
When he got closer she saw the paddle, and panic flew through her. He’d made her a promise. Everything he’d ever done had pushed her past what she thought her boundaries were, but he’d never hurt her — yet there he was with something meant to inflict pain.
Ari struggled against the restraints, true fear spiking inside her. She had to get out. It was time to leave. Maybe he truly was the monster she’d thought him to be in the beginning.
Chapter Fourteen
“I thought you promised to never hurt me,” she choked out as she struggled against the restraints.
Rafe suddenly stopped, his face blanching as a tear coursed down her face. She didn’t know whether this meant he was going to stop, but she was so frightened, she continued pulling against the binds on her hands and legs.
“Stop,” he commanded, his voice firm, but gentle. “I won’t break the promise. I will push you, Ari, and show you pleasure. I will send your body spiraling relentlessly out of control. I will make you beg me for more. I won’t hurt you.”